Indiana Hoosiers defensive back Khalil Bryant (29) gets a high five from a coach during IU's Cream and Crimson spring game at Mellencamp Pavilion in Bloomington, Ind., on Saturday, April 14, 2018. Bobby Goddin/For IndyStar, Bobby Goddin/For IndyStar

BLOOMINGTON – New IU quarterback Brandon Dawkins needed a student ID. He tried going to the library to get one Tuesday, but was turned down.

The day before, Dawkins tried driving home from the football facility without using directions, but got lost just minutes into the short drive.

These are just some of the adjustments the Arizona graduate transfer has had to make since arriving in Bloomington. From learning names of his new teammates to setting up his apartment, football is just a small part of Dawkins’ transition to the Hoosiers program.

“I’ve only been here for a week, so it’s kind of like a chicken with his head cut off,” Dawkins said.

A dual-threat quarterback, Dawkins is the type of mobile QB Tom Allen and offensive coordinator Mike DeBord are looking for.

He redshirted in 2014 before playing three years at Arizona, starting portions of the last two. In his career with the Wildcats, he tallied 3,996 total yards of offense and 35 touchdowns. Of those, 1,582 yards and 20 scores came on the ground.

Dawkins joins a quarterback room short on experience. Besides Dawkins, Peyton Ramsey is the only Hoosiers QB whose thrown a college pass. And Ramsey's experience is limited to just eight games last season. Freshmen Michael Penix Jr. and Reese Taylor also fit IU's mold of dual-threat quarterbacks, but Dawkins' experience figures to give him a leg up in competition to replace the graduated Richard Lagow under center.

He doesn’t expect to run the program right away, but says he'll immerse himself in the playbook this summer, so he's ready if his name is called.

“I’m not just some jerk coming in to steal everybody’s job,” Dawkins said. “Come in and help in any way I can, not try to do too much, too fast.”

Brandon Dawkins transferred from Arizona to play his final year at Indiana.(Photo: Christian Petersen, Getty Images)

Transferring to IU for his final season of eligibility, Dawkins said he found a lot of things he liked about Allen’s program.

“The family feel of the program,” Dawkins said. “I really like coach DeBord, his offensive mind, everything he does. The quarterback coach (Nick Sheridan), a young guy, I kind of always liked younger quarterback coaches who played the game. Pretty hard to teach this position when you haven’t really been in the heat of the battle.”

Sheridan played for Rich Rodriguez while Rodriguez was at Michigan. Rodriguez was Dawkins' coach at Arizona the past three seasons. Dawkins and Sheridan have shared stories about their time playing for Rodriguez.

One thing that stood out for Dawkins on his visit to IU was the passion for football within the program. After a scrimmage, Dawkins' host, wide receiver Luke Timian, caught 200 extra passes from the jugs machine.

“Little things like that show that players are invested,” Dawkins said. “I wanted to go somewhere where football is important. It seemed really important to the guys here and that kind of made me fall in love with it pretty much.”

While he is adjusting to new teammates and a new environment, he also has to learn a whole new offensive system — one significantly different than what he ran at Arizona.

“The biggest contrast is some of the reads we have on offense,” Dawkins said. “Having a pure progression offense, that’s not what we did at Arizona. It was a lot more run-pass and obviously we’re going to incorporate that because that plays to my skillset, the ability to run and pass.”

A greater running threat from the quarterback position could help balance an IU offense that led the Big Ten in pass attempts in 2017, but finished 12th in the league in rushing offense.